Again, part of me protests that I should dig in my heels, but I’m already moving to him and allowing him to arrange me on his lap. Still, I can’t quite keep silent. “I’m not a big cuddler.”
“This isn’t about cuddling.” He smooths a hand down my back and guides my head to his shoulder.
I wait, but he doesn’t seem overly motivated to keep talking. A little laugh escapes. “By all means, don’t feel like you have to elaborate. I’ll just sit here in pleasant confusion for the duration.”
“For someone with your reputation, you’ve got quite the mouth on you.” He doesn’t sound annoyed by this fact. No, if I don’t miss my guess, he’s positively amused.
I sigh and relax against him. He’s obviously not going to let me go until he’s finished with whatever this not-cuddling thing is, and holding myself tense through the whole thing is too exhausting. Plus…it’s kind of nice to lie like this. Just for a little while. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised. You’ve already admitted you use your reputation as a weapon. Is it so strange to think I might do the same?”
“Why did you land on sunshine? None of your other sisters made the same choice.”
At that, I lean back a little so I can raise my brows at him. “Hades…you seem to know a lot about us. You must follow the gossip sites.”
He doesn’t look remotely sorry. “You’d be surprised at the information someone can glean from them if they read between the lines and have a little insider perspective.”
I can’t argue that. I feel the same way. With a small laugh, I relax against him again. “Eurydice isn’t playing a part, not entirely. She really is the innocent dreamer, which is how she ended up with that asshole of a boyfriend.”
Hades’s chuckle rumbles through his chest. “You don’t approve of Orpheus.”
“Would you if he were in a relationship with someone you care about? He embraces the starving artist trope to an absurd degree, especially considering he’s a trust-fund baby like the rest of us. He might think Eurydice is his muse right now, but what happens when he gets bored with her and starts looking outside their relationship for inspiration?” I know exactly what will happen. Eurydice will be crushed. It might actually break her. We’ve kept our youngest sister as sheltered as a person can be when they’re one spot removed from the Thirteen. The thought of Eurydice losing her innocence… It hurts. I don’t want that for her.
“And your other sisters?”
I shrug as much as I’m able to. “Psyche prefers to fly under the radar. She never lets them know what she’s thinking, and sometimes it seems like all of Olympus loves her for it. She’s something of a trendsetter, but she makes it look effortless, like she can’t be bothered to try.” Though sometimes I catch an empty look in her eyes when she thinks no one is looking. She never used to have that look before Mother became Demeter.
I clear my throat. “Callisto isn’t playing a role. She really is as fierce as she seems. She hates the Thirteen, hates Olympus, hates everyone except us.” I’ve wondered time and time again why she hasn’t left. She’s the only one of us who has access to her trust fund, and instead of using it to craft an escape hatch, she’s only seemed to settle deeper into her hate.
Hades slowly winds a strand of my hair around his finger. “And you?”
“Someone has to keep the peace.” It was my role in our little family unit even before we moved up the social and political ladder in Olympus, so it felt natural to extend it. I smooth things out, make plans, and get everyone on board. It wasn’t meant to be forever. Only until I could craft my ship out of here.
I never could have anticipated that wearing the mask of the sweet, biddable daughter might be the very thing that traps me here forever.
Chapter 11
Hades
It takes more determination than I anticipate to leave Persephone’s bed after she falls asleep. It feels good to have her in my arms. Too good. It’s like waking up to find that the happy dream was real all along, and that fantasy is the one thing I can’t allow. That’s ultimately what pushes me to press a kiss to her temple and leave.
Exhaustion weighs me down, but I won’t be able to rest before I do my nightly rounds. It’s a compulsion I’ve given in to too many times, and tonight is no exception. I’m better than I used to be, though. At one point, I couldn’t close my eyes before I checked every single door and window in this house. Now, it’s only the doors and ground-floor windows, finishing with a stop in our security hub. My people never comment on me checking their work, which I appreciate. It’s less about their capabilities and more about the fear that licks at my heels when I let my guard down.